Flower Power!

What’s your favorite kind of flower? Dahlias, daisies, marigolds, snap dragons, roses… they’re all fabulous.  Flowers bring joy to many.  How do flowers make you feel?  Here’s what Spearly residents and staff had to say:

“They make me feel happy, peaceful and relaxed.”

~ Aisha B., Connections Assistant Director

“I like the way they smell.  They make people grow.

~ Linh H., Spruce Neighborhood

“They make me feel happy and free.”

~ Linda S., Juniper Neighborhood

They make me feel 15 again.”

~ Steven J., Pinon Neighborhood

“They make me feel good, like someone cares.”

~ Theresa J., Juniper Neighborhood

“Flowers make me happy.”

~ Vincie D., Pinon Neighborhood

July 2017 Events in Denver, CO: Stand In Integrity

Each summer Juniper Village begins our quarterly Alive in All Seasons focus on Staying Connected. We promote staying connected to the community, the environment and each other. In July we shed light on staying connected to our community through volunteerism. Do you know that, as a company, we receive more than 10,000 hours of precious volunteer time each year? We have many volunteers, both human and animal, who contribute to our mission of nurturing the spirit of life. Elizabeth Andrew said it best, “volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.” This month we honor all of the wonderful volunteers who make time to share a bit of their heart with us. We appreciate those who lead groups in our communities; those who share their unique skills and talents with our residents; those who provide friendly visits to our residents and give a reassuring hug or comforting puppy kiss; and the many, many other special people who enhance our lives.

This month as we focus on volunteerism we invite you to find a way that you can make a difference. Whether helping us at Juniper Village or another organization, volunteering has countless emotional and physical health benefits. Volunteering gives a boost not only to those receiving, but to those giving of their time as well.

Review our full calendar and make time to join us for any and all events.

This month we highlight our Ambassador Program and other volunteer opportunities for residents. In addition to volunteer opportunities, we invite you to join us during July for our summer celebrations and share our thanks as we honor those who Stand In Integrity with us.

Our fabulous July 2017 events in Denver, CO at Juniper Village at The Spearly Center include our:

§  Denver Rescue Mission Donation Station because here at The Spearly Center we enjoy giving back to the community, and what’s one man’s trash may be another man’s treasure, all month long we will be accepting donations for the Denver Rescue Mission from residents, family members, staff, and the community, so look for our drop box in our front lobby; clothes, books, toys, shoes, and other small items are welcome any time before July 31^st.

§  Stand In Integrity July 4th BBQ as our Juniper family believes that staying connected to the community is beneficial to all, we would like to extend a sincere invitation to our Partners in Caring, First Responders and family members to this holiday BBQ, with Dave Hidalgo performing festive American classics and grilled favorites of summer will be served on our Outdoor Patio on July 4^th at 11:30 am.

§  Spearly Sidekick Summer Cookout to enjoy warm weather, green scenery and plenty of sunshine and all the many reasons why summertime is the favorite season of many people, the Spearly Center would like to invite volunteers, local businesses, Partners In Caring, community neighbors, family and friends to our Spearly Sidekick Summer Cookout, so come mingle with friends and enjoy tasty grilled treats on July 21^st at 11:30 am.

We look forward to sharing our July 2017 events in Denver, CO at Juniper Village at The Spearly Center with you as you Stand In Integrity.

PAWS: Pets Are Wonderful Support

Meet Makwa.  Makwa (which is Ojibwe, or Chippewa for bear) is a lovable 140 pound Newfoundland who loves to visit residents, staff and family members  here at Spearly regularly.  He is a one and a half year old gentle giant who brings smiles to everyone’s faces whenever he visits.  Studies show that pet interactions can have tremendous health benefits which promote an active body, an engaged mind, and a fulfilled spirit.  Improved physical health, reduced stress, improved heart health, improved mood and an increase in self-esteem are some of the great benefits associated with Pet Therapy.  Makwa would love to meet you! 

Spearly Talks The Talk & Walks The Walk at the 2017 NAMI Walk Colorado

Juniper Village The Spearly Center was excited to participate in the 2017 NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Walk Colorado on May 20th.  Team Spearly was 58 human and 4 canine walkers strong this year and was comprised of residents, staff, family members and friends.  We surpassed our fundraising goal of $1000 and raised $1350.  This year, NAMI Walk Colorado raised over $125,000.

NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) is a national organization with a Colorado chapter.  NAMI Colorado’s mission is to build communities of recovery and hope by educating, supporting, and advocating for individuals affected by mental illness and their families.

NAMI Colorado is dedicated to building better lives for the One Million plus Coloradans and their families who are affected by any number of mental illnesses - schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, PTSD,

obsessive-compulsive disorder, borderline personality disorder, panic disorder and others.  They offer free educational classes, support groups and political advocacy.

Donations on behalf of Team Spearly are still being accepted online at https://www.namiwalks.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.event&eventID=627.  For more information, find NAMI Colorado on the web at www.namicolorado.org or call (303) 321-3104.  Together, we can all stomp out stigma of mental illness.

June 2017 Events in Denver, CO: Live In Wellness

“You are what you eat.” The old adage is now truer than ever. Good health is largely dependent on good nutrition, so much so that doctors trace many physical and emotional ailments back to a diet deficient in vitamins and minerals. Eating a well-balanced diet is a major part of encouraging long life, lowering the incidence of disease, and helping sick people recover. On the flip side, inadequate nutrition and poor quality foods can generally cut life span and open us up to many illnesses and disease. In effect, food is medicine per Webster's definition of medicine: "The science and art dealing with the maintenance of health and the prevention, alleviation, or cure of disease." Food acts as medicine - to maintain, prevent, and treat disease.

With this month’s Alive in All Seasons focus on food, we’d like to give you a prescription for a healthy diet: breakfast daily (do not skip); meals x3 (at least) daily; foods from each of the food groups per meal daily. The food pyramid defines the food groups as grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy and proteins. The amounts vary according to age, sex, height, weight, and physical activity level. Here’s a good guideline to start you on your way. Make half your plate fruits and vegetables. Make half your grains whole grains. Move to low-fat and fat-free dairy. Vary your protein routine and eat and drink the right amount for you.

Join us as we continue our focus on healthy aging by shedding light on our hydration program with healthy snacks and juices, and demonstrate how food and nutrition help us to Live in Wellness from a dietitian’s point of view.

Our fabulous June 2017 events in Denver, CO at Juniper Village at The Spearly Center include our:

§  Spearly Sidekicks Live In Wellness BBQ because enjoying the outdoor environment can be as simple as sitting on the patio and spending time with friends and loved ones, so come join us as we celebrate good food, living in wellness and joyous times as we host this festive BBQ, as we welcome our family members, friends, First Responders and neighbors for a tasty and healthy meal on our sunny Outdoor Patio on June 9^th at 11:30 am.

§  Father’s Day Luncheon as Michael Jordan once said, “My father used to say that it’s never too late to do anything you wanted to do; you never know what you can accomplish until you try,” so please join us in our Main Dining Room as we pay tribute with family, friends and community neighbors to wise and amazing fathers everywhere on June 19^th at noon.

§  Summertime Fun BBQ as we invite friends, family and community neighbors to enjoy the outdoors, mingle with friends, and feast on grilled favorites, and a special invitation is extended to our first responders for a quick bite on the go, so meet us on the sunny Outdoor Patio for great food, great friends, and a great day on June 23^rd at 11:30 am.

We look forward to sharing our June 2017 events in Denver, CO at Juniper Village at The Spearly Center with you as you Live In Wellness.

“Put it on a Tee for the Whole World to See!” at FBD

Theresa Flores, a Denver native, has been a nurse at Juniper Village The Spearly Center for over 23 years.  In August 2015, she and 3 additional family members (her mother Anna, sister Joni and cousin Gary) decided they wanted to make their own t-shirts to express their political opinions in a hot political climate.  They started a small business named FBD (Flores By Design), named after Theresa’s late father John Flores, who was an artist in Denver. 

Then they went a step further.  They decided to sell their t-shirts, mainly focusing on politics.  Then they went a step further.  There was a multitude of requests for personalized shirts.  They invested thousands of dollars and purchased a high-tech direct-to-garment printing machine and traveled to California for a special instructional session.  Quality and customer satisfaction is extremely important to them.

Today the family team of four at FBD (ages mid 50’s to early 80’s) are taking their business even further.  Since inception their customer base is in the hundreds, with many repeat customers, and continues to grow.  They can customize any job, their prices are very competitive and their products aren’t just limited to t-shirts; Aprons, baby clothing and canvases are popular items as well.  Theresa has no plans to leave Spearly anytime soon, but she feels her new business is a great opportunity after she does decide to retire after being a nurse for decades. 

“Put it on a Tee for the Whole World to See!” at FBD!  For more info, call 720-598-5727, 720-980-3066 or visit them at the web a twww.customshirtprintingbyfbd.com

May 2017 Events in Denver, CO: Grow Strong Daily

Continuing our Spring Alive In All Seasons focus on healthy again, we continue to let wellbeing thrive with a May focus on Fitness. Staying fit throughout all seasons of life is possible and at Juniper we promote fitness every day of the week! We recently shared on our Facebook page a New York Times story, authored by Gretchen Reynolds, providing results from the Mayo Clinic who recently conducted an experiment on the cells of 72 healthy but sedentary men and women who were 30 or younger or older than 64. The volunteers were randomly assigned to a particular exercise regimen. There were some unsurprising differences: The gains in muscle mass and strength were greater for those who exercised only with weights, while interval training had the strongest influence on endurance. But more unexpected results were found in the biopsied muscle cells. It seems as if the decline in the cellular health of muscles associated with aging was “corrected” with exercise, especially if it was intense, says Dr. Sreekumaran Nair, a professor of medicine and an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic and the study’s senior author. In fact, older people’s cells responded in some ways more robustly to intense exercise than the cells of the young did. So pick up those weights, get on that bike and remember it’s never too late to benefit from exercise. And if you’re not doing so already, follow us on social media so you don’t miss a thing.

We invite you to Grow Strong Daily along with us with programs such as Fitness Five and our Route 66 Walking Program. Learn more about fitness and keeping your heart healthy at our Heart Healthy Luncheon and educational presentation. Staying fit throughout all seasons of life is possible.

Our fabulous May 2017 events in Denver, CO at Juniper Village at The Spearly Center include our:

§  Mother’s Day Tea & Talk because Stevie Wonder once said, “Mama was my greatest teacher, a teacher of compassion, love and fearlessness; if love is sweet as a flower, then my mother is that sweet flower of love,” so please join us in our Country Store as we pay tribute with family, friends and community neighbors to wonderful and inspiring mothers everywhere, while tea and pastries are served on May 14^th at 10:00 am.

§  NAMI Walk Colorado Team Spearly as the National Alliance on Mental Illness holds this fundraising walk annually offering a wonderful opportunity to show your support for mental illness while enjoying a nice leisurely walk, and the Spearly team will have a booth to showcase their wonderful community and the residents they serve, so join us on the walk and take this opportunity to network with our Partners in Caring, and light refreshments will be served after the walk which will be held at Centennial Center Park on May 20^th at 8:00 am.

§  Grow Strong Daily Memorial Day BBQ as we remember our men and women who have served in the Armed forces and kick off the BBQ season as live musical entertainment will be provided on our sunny Juniper patio, and a variety of grilled favorites will be served, and there will be something for everyone, so we hope you can join us to mix and mingle with friends on May 29^th at 11:30 am.

We look forward to sharing our May 2017 events in Denver, CO at Juniper Village at The Spearly Center with you as you Grow Strong Daily.